DEME orders Orion

March 1 - DEME has ordered an offshore installation vessel, Orion, which will be built at a Cosco shipyard in China.

Orion will be deployed by DEME's subsidiary, GeoSea, for the construction and decommissioning of offshore wind farms as well as to service the oil and gas industry.

Orion will be equipped with a crane that has a lifting capacity of 3,000 tonnes at more than 50 m. The loads can be lifted to a height of more than 170 m, while deck space has been maximised to provide high transport and load capacity.

Luc Vandenbulcke, managing director at GeoSea, said: "With Orion we will be uniquely positioned to meet the future requirements of our customers and the trend towards larger capacity turbines and bigger wind farm projects, delivering energy at lower costs. Orion will be capable of installing mega monopiles at greater depths. With DP3 technology the offshore installation vessel can continue operations under the most challenging conditions."

According to the marine engineering company, Orion has dual fuel engines and can run on liquefied natural gas (LNG). It also features a waste heat recovery system that converts heat from the exhaust gasses and cooling water to electrical energy.

The 216.5 m long Orion can accommodate a crew of up to 131 people and is scheduled for delivery in 2019.